Winning
by Bellatrix Black
Summary: “Who says it's about winning?” she questioned. - The day before Bellatrix graduates, Sirius pays a visit to his cousin and her fellow Slytherins. One-shot.


**Disclaimer:**I don't own Harry Potter in any way, shape or form. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

  


+~+

He never did have any manners. He despised them all and couldn't care less if they were to drop dead at his feet. So he would greet them all in low bows, mocking their overly done accents and laughing as their glares followed him around the room.

Sirius wasn't supposed to be there. And somebody had to get rid of him.

"Get out!" Severus yelled, searching in his robes for his missing wand. Sirius laughed, twirling said wand between thumb and index finger, sneering with much mirth as the young Slytherin looked at him in despair.

Wands were drawn from all sides, yet the young Gryffindor showed no sign of fear. He merely glanced around, noting the dark look on Narcissa's face as she shook her head in embarrassment. 

The Slytherin Common Room looked less gloomy now, as a few green and silver decorations adorned the walls. Butterbeer was being served, along with Chocolate Frogs, Ice Mice and Pepper Imps. It had been a party. And who better a party crasher than Sirius Black?

Graduation was only a day away. Celebrations were at hand, for many would leave this school the very next day, never to return again. The big bad world awaited them and so they had chosen to bid Hogwarts good-bye in their own sense. 

And then he showed up. And chaos ensured. Nobody seemed interested in summoning a teacher and having the Gryffindor thrown out of their quarters. Rather they were content with each hex that was thrown as he laughed and performed a shield charm. But finally, the chaos had to end. And the very person he had been seeking stepped forward, arms folded and lips pursed in a vividly disgusted manner.

"You stupid bastard," she hissed. His sneer returned, and he gallantly removed the shield charm and hurried over to his cousin with faked enthusiasm.

"Lovely to see you too, Bella," he said cheerfully, as if he hasn't just been attacked by five armed seventh years. She pulled away as, to her disgust, he leaned in for a hug.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" growled Bellatrix, no longer caring for the pleasantries as she gruffly pulled him aside, dragging him out of the common room and into the stairwell to the Slytherin Girls Dormitory. 

"What kind of greeting is that?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "What? No 'Hello Sirius', no 'lovely to see you Sirius'?"

"It's never lovely to see you, so why would today be any different?" she proclaimed loudly. Heads downstairs turned in their direction, but she ignored them and focused on her cousin. She clenched her fists, her eyes narrowing darkly; much to the delight of the older Black brother.

"Ah, but Bella," he murmured in a sing-song voice, "this will be your very last day here. What kind of cousin would I be if I didn't let you go out with a bang?"

She shook her head, still glaring as she used her wand to point to the door. "You're not welcome here," she proclaimed. "So get _out_."

"No!" he shouted, stamping his foot in frustration. "I'm staying here until _I_ choose to leave. It's not your choice and you can't make me go!"

"Want to make a wager on that?" she said in a low voice, her wand now pointed squarely at his chest. Sirius blinked in surprise, though honestly, it wasn't like he hadn't expected such a move. Her lips curled and he frowned, shaking his head of shaggy black locks.

  
"You wouldn't dare," he muttered.

"Wouldn't I?" she announced, nodding towards the crowd that had gathered in the common room, speaking in hushed voices. "They certainly wouldn't mind."

Sirius sneaked a quick look at the Slytherin seventh years, who all still had their wands drawn and who seemed just as pleased to see him as they had been when they lost the house cup the previous year.

"You won't," he stated matter-of-factly. Bellatrix almost laughed, making Sirius cringe inside. She had the advantage here. She was the one in control. 

"And why is that?" 

"Because you don't want to win like that," he announced under his breath, so that his words are heard by only himself and his cousin.

"Who says it's about winning?" she questioned. Her dark eyes settled on his identical pair, and her body shook with rage as she saw the laughter dancing in his eyes. How could he be so calm and relaxed? Why was he always so goddamned sure about himself?

"It's always about winning with you," he said arrogantly, folding his arms across his chest even though her wand hadn't moved. He glanced at it for a moment, but otherwise chose to ignore it. She was intrigued now, and he knew it. "You _always_ want to come out on top. But tell me, would there be any thrill in hexing me into next Sunday when I don't even have a wand to defend myself?"

"Yes actually," she answered sweetly. "It would be a riveting moment from which I'd remember until the end of my days."

"Okay, bad example."  
  


"Indeed."

"But would you win at all, Bella?" he asked. "Would it be to satisfy yourself when you know that come Regulus' sorting, I'll be the one telling him how vindictive Slytherins can be, while you and Rodolphus will be off waltzing at some ball?"

Bellatrix shook her head, the palm of her hand raised as if she would slap him. For a moment it seemed to Sirius that she would, he knew she was capable of doing such a thing if she reached breaking point.

"If you do _anything_, and I mean anything to brainwash Regulus' into becoming what _you_ are, I swear I'll-"

"You'll what?" he exclaimed. "You'll hate me? Loathe me? Hex me? You could do that right now and that would never stop me. I love it that you hate me, my dear cousin. There's nothing more intoxicating than the look on your face whenever I get the better of you."

"I do hate you so," she hissed under her breath, malice and disgust consuming her face.

"Good!" answered Sirius. "Hate me! Loathe me! Despise me! Glare at me like you're going to kill me. Look me in the eye and show me how out of place I am. But don't you dare love me, Bella. Because if you did, you'd probably kill me."

Stunned for a moment, the young Slytherin couldn't move as she registered his words. Eventually she sneered and lowered her wand, stowing it away amid her long black robes. Silently, and much to Sirius' surprise, she snaked her arm around his and poised herself, before leading the younger Black through the common room and stopping at the blank wall which sufficed for an entrance.

"Either leave now, or they-" she gestured towards the other Slytherins in the room, each with a dark look plastered all over their pasty white faces, "- will finish you off for me."

Sirius unwound his arm from hers and sighed in defeat. "Ah well, I've fulfilled my purpose here," he announced lamely.

"Good," she said sweetly. "Now be off with you before Severus loses all self control." 

Giving his cousin one more forced grin, Sirius raised his hand and pressed it up against the blank wall, feeling it sink through as he called over his shoulder, "Have a nice life, Bella! And don't worry about Regulus, he'll be just fine."

**~Fin**


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